


score a goal in my heart.

by winniewinko



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 00z superior, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Mark Lee (NCT), Crushes, Dumb Hockey Boys, Hockey, Love Confessions, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Music Video: 90's Love (NCT U), Pining, a bit of taewin, also 97z besties, as in college manners, mark is awkward but cute don't @ me, not severe, subtle side ships, ten the assigned knowing bff, the author knows nothing about hockey, wingman donghyuck, wingman jaehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28812105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winniewinko/pseuds/winniewinko
Summary: sicheng ruffles his hair as he scrunches his nose in a cute manner. “youare adorable .”mark meets his eyes, not believing his ears. but sicheng’s still smiling at him with his fond look so mark’s sure he’s heard it right. not sure his heart could take it anymore, he looks away. after a pause, mark clears his throat.“ so. fridays evening ?”“ yeah ,” sicheng smiles. “ see you, minhyung .”ormark has a major crush on his hockey team captain, and his friends got his back.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Mark Lee
Comments: 5
Kudos: 55





	score a goal in my heart.

**Author's Note:**

> i know nothing, absolutely Nothing about hockey. spare my life.  
> never edited, excuse the inevitable mistakes. enjoy anyways <3

the indoors ice rink is located at the back of the campus, next to the gym and baseball field. it’s busiest at weekends when there’s no classes, since the students get unlimited free entries, and it’s the best spot to hang-out during sunny days. most of the time it’s filled with ice skaters and, of course, the college hockey team.

you see, it’s mark’s favourite place in campus, but it’s three blocks away from his dorm. so when he sleeps through his alarm when he has hockey practices, he has to sprint to make it on time. today’s one of the days.

he’s lucky their captain – whom he might be crushing on – dong sicheng, is a literal angel. maybe ten will scold him again, but sicheng would probably ruffle his hair and tell him not to do it anymore. he’s nice enough he hasn’t kicked mark out even if, admittedly, mark’s not really good at hockey.

despite running like he never did before, he got there late. the team’s already in a game when he gets to the benches, where sat their right-winger, lee donghyuck – also mark’s best friend. he looks up to a panting mark and scoffs.

“ sorry I’m late .” mark says, tossing his gym bag to the floor. donghyuck rolls his eyes and focuses back on the game he’s playing. 

“ you’re late .”

mark makes a face as he downs his bottle. “ well, _duh?_ I just apologized –“ before he could finish, donghyuck claps his hand against mark’s mouth, and narrows his eyes in concentration. mark lifts a brow.

“ shh, do you hear that ?”

aside from chatters and the sound of puck being passed around, he hears nothing. “ what ?”

“ the sound of me not giving a fuck .”

it’s mark’s turn to roll his eyes. he slaps donghyuck’s hand and donghyuck laughs, scooting away so mark could sit down. the rink’s pretty empty today, the skaters probably don’t have any practice. usually jaemin would be here by now, joining donghyuck and yangyang (sometimes jeno) to make mark’s life more miserable.

“ jaemin’s not coming ?”

“ nope. it’s his off-day ,” donghyuck shuts his phone and turns to mark. “ you don’t want to join them ?”

“ in the middle of a game? are you crazy? what are you doing here, anyways? I thought _I’m_ the duster .”

donghyuck shrugs, stretching his legs out. he swings his legs back and forth, like a kid. it reminds mark of their school days. “ not feeling like it. sicheng-ge said I can watch .”

“ slacker .” mark snorts.

“ you’re jealous I’m sicheng-ge’s favourite !” donghyuck teases in his sing-songy voice. mark wants to punch him. 

“ you’re not. yangyang is .”

“ I’m a close second, mark lee !”

“ remember what jaehyun-hyung said? second place is first losers .”

donghyuck punches him in the shoulder not-so-gently and mark bursts into laughter. despite having a year difference, mark has always been comfortable with donghyuck, even when they first met in school. it’s a miracle they got into the same college.

freshmen year, when jaemin chose to join the skaters club, donghyuck joined the hockey team since he’s petty like that. and of course he dragged mark along. the thing is, donghyuck’s picked up hockey quickly but mark… well, he’s fast, but he could work on his accuracy skills. 

mark stops laughing when he hears sicheng shouts, “ take five !”

on cue, all three boys minus sicheng and ten skate to the bench at once. yangyang practically shove mark away to sit next to his equally-evil twin, and sungchan flashes him a pity smile as he helps mark to get up. jeno shakes his head at them.

“ you’re late again .” jeno comments, wiping his face with a clean towel.

“ slept through my alarm ,” mark smiles shyly. “ I did professor jeon’s assignment last night .”

“ isn’t it due next month ?”

yangyang snorts. “ you know how he is. mark lee, the only brain in this team .”

“ yeah but it’s been two years and he still sucks at hockey .” donghyuck points out, as if it’s not obvious. yangyang fist-bumps him.

“ probably made a wrong turn from student council when he was applying for clubs, eh ?”

mark whines. “ guys, I’m still here .”

the youngsters erupt into laughter, continuing to tease mark some more. then ten shows up out of nowhere, usual grin on his face, while sicheng skates in tow, natural face on. he smiles at mark and mark tries to return it without looking constipated.

“ boys, your captain and I got some good news !” ten announces, clinging to sicheng like always.

donghyuck’s face brightens. “ is the administration finally gonna build a café here so we don’t have to walk four blocks to buy drinks ?”

“ no. sadly. but ,” ten drags out the last word and beams. “ we got a place in the sora colleges national hockey competition !”

their eyes widen at once. jeno chokes on his drink and spits it on yangyang, who deadpans him after. donghyuck giggles and hands him a tissue, while in the other hand, sungchan’s too stunned to react.

“ isn’t that a major league ?” mark blurts out, eyebrows knitted together.

“ yes, mark, thank you. we’ve been trying the league for seven years but there were no luck, so I’m expecting y’all to put your best foot forward since we finally got our chance .”

“ sora league… fuck, mom, I’m famous !” yangyang yells, shaking donghyuck’s body.

“ come on. we all know I’m the reason why we made it ,” donghyuck smirks. “ I’m a lucky charm, baby .”

“ you’re a failure, that’s what you are .” jeno murmurs. it doesn’t go unheard and donghyuck smacks him.

ignoring the others, sungchan raises his hand. ten nods at him.

“ yes, chan ?”

“ when is it? the tournament, I mean .”

“ it’s in late september, so that means two months from now on .”

sicheng clears his throat. all eyes are instantly on him. mark admires how he doesn’t speak much, but when he does, he’s always the spotlight. “ and as you know… this year is my and ten’s last year before we graduate. so if we get first place, it’ll be memorable to us both .”

ten smiles at sicheng and pulls him into a side hug. if mark doesn’t know better, he would be jealous. luckily he does. the two have been close since day one, both being stem majors, chinese club members, and the team’s captain and co-captain. ten had a surgery a few years ago, so his application got delayed and he got into the same semester as sicheng. since then they’re practically twins.

“ of course we’ll get first place ,” yangyang says with so much confidence. “ we have a skillful captain !”

“ that's supposed to be my line .” donghyuck pouts. 

“ think faster, dimwit .”

“ the fuck you call me ?”

jeno rolls his eyes. “ you two are hopeless .”

ten pull yangyang and donghyuck apart before they could kill each other, with jeno and sungchan helping him. sicheng simply shakes his head at them. he’s never the one to join in the mess anyways.

then, he turns to mark. sicheng smiles – revealing his tiny dimple. mark always thought it looks cute. well, sicheng himself is cute, but that’s not the point.

“ minhyung ,” he says and gestures to the empty spot next to mark. “ can I sit here ?”

“ of – of course .”

sicheng plops down next to him, taking his gloves off from both hands. “ you’re late again today .”

his tone is calm, friendly even, but it sends shivers down mark’s spine. if it’s coming from ten he wouldn’t care less but this is sicheng.

“ uh, um, yeah… I slept through my alarm… again. sorry .”

“ it’s okay ,” sicheng hums. “ do you have any evening classes on fridays ?”

“ fridays? uh… no, I think. why ?”

“ I was thinking… maybe we can have extra practices. since, you know, sora league? that ain’t easy .”

mark pauses and nods. he doesn’t mind extra practices. “ yeah, sure. why not? I could use it. I mean, I’m still slacking, pretty sure jeno and hyuck could teach me .”

sicheng turns to him, not smiling this time. mark blinks. when sicheng opens his mouth then closes it back, mark’s skin crawls. did he fuck up? did he say something he’s not supposed to?

“ I mean… just you… and me ?”

mark blinks again. his entire face burns and his eyes widen. it takes him a few seconds, but it makes his heart race nonetheless. he grins – looking like a smitten idiot (that he is).

“ that’s perfect !” he says, a bit too enthusiastically, and ten shoots them a look before he returns to the others. mark’s cheeks redden and sicheng giggles. “ I mean. yeah. I suck, so I really need a professional’s help .”

“ cut it. I’m nowhere near professional .”

“ yeah you are! have you seen you on the ice? you own it. fucking skilled, like yang said. when I first saw you, I didn’t think you’re good at hockey because you’re like, adorable, but you are –“ 

realizing he’s ranting, mark stops himself mid-sentence and closes his mouth. fuck. he has humiliates himself in front of his crush (again). but when he turns to sicheng, sicheng’s grinning at him.

sicheng ruffles his hair as he scrunches his nose in a cute manner. “ _you_ are adorable .”

mark meets his eyes, not believing his ears. but sicheng’s still smiling at him with his fond look so mark’s sure he’s heard it right. not sure his heart could take it anymore, he looks away. after a pause, mark clears his throat.

“ so. fridays evening ?”

“ yeah ,” sicheng smiles. “ see you, minhyung .”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

it’s lunch time and mark’s about to make a beeline to their usual spot when donghyuck drags him to the opposite direction.

“ hey, slow down – hey, hyuck, let go of my collar, you’re gonna rip it apart !”

donghyuck scoffs and lets him go. “ snob .”

“ it’s my favourite shirt ,” mark retorts. “ where are we going? our table is that way .” he says, pointing to the table where sat renjun, jaemin, chenle and jisung.

“ not today .”

“ you fight with jaemin again ?”

“ none of your business, mark lee .” donghyuck hisses and grabs him so he’ll walk faster. mark doesn’t need an answer because he knows he’s right.

mark opens his mouth to protest but closes it back when donghyuck beams and skips towards a table. donghyuck sits next to yangyang – who’s discussing something with jeno – and joins the conversation easily. that’s when mark realizes the whole hockey team is sitting at the same table. mark knits his brows. he doesn’t get any notice for a meeting.

at another side of the table, ten’s sitting in between sungchan and sicheng. when their eyes meet, ten waves at mark.

“ there you are, markie pooh !” he shouts and mark’s cheeks burn at the nickname. “ come, sit down .”

the only empty space is on sicheng’s other side. mark sucks in a deep breath and plops down onto the bench. sicheng smiles, and mark nods, too shy to say anything. when sicheng’s in usual clothes like this, he looks tiny, and cuter, if that’s humanly possible.

sicheng pushes a tray of food towards mark, noticing the younger doesn’t have any since donghyuck dragged him earlier. mark’s face reddens.

“ thanks .”

“ no problem .” sicheng smiles again and slurps his strawberry milkshake.

ten clears his throat. “ so, since y’all are here, let’s get started. sicheng and I agreed on extra practises, if that’s okay .” 

“ yeah sure ,” jeno nods. “ when ?”

“ well, are you free on mondays ?”

“ morning class .” yangyang and donghyuck say in unison.

“ what about tuesdays, any morning class ?” they shake their heads. “ so tuesdays at nine? will that work ?”

“ yeah, sounds good .” 

“ wednesdays on four p.m. ?” 

“ I have a class ,” sungchan says politely. “ it ends on four thirty, so I’ll be late .”

ten nods. “ that’ll work. we have enough members anyway. fridays ?”

“ nope. friday’s off .” it’s the first time sicheng talks since the discussion starts.

“ sweet .” donghyuck murmurs. he high-fives yangyang and jeno rolls his eyes.

ten shoots sicheng a knowing look. “ why though? I thought only weekends are off-days .”

“ hockey date with minhyung .” sicheng says nonchalantly, having no clue how much damage it does to mark’s poor heart.

mark chokes on the fries he’s munching on. sicheng smiles apologetically and hands him his shake, which doesn’t help, because now mark could only think of _indirect kissing_. in the other hand the entire table erupt into ooh’s and ah’s, especially ten. 

he smacks his best friend and smirks, “ scandalous !”

donghyuck wiggles his brows at mark. if sicheng’s not here mark would’ve flipped him with the finger.

“ please inform beforehand if you can’t make it ,” sicheng says, ignoring ten. “ if anything, just tell me .”

“ do we have practice today ?”

“ no. it’ll start next week .”

“ what about mondays evening ?” yangyang cocks a brow.

sicheng shakes his head. “ library dates with taeyong .” 

a pregnant pause – then chain reaction at once. donghyuck chokes on his smoothie, jeno’s jaw drops and yangyang’s eyes go wild like golf balls. ten shoots sicheng a betrayed look but sicheng’s isn’t fazed. mark’s heart breaks (a bit).

“ the baseball captain ?” sungchan asks in a friendly tone, afraid if he comes too busy-body or something.

being the youngest in the team, sungchan seldom speak if not spoken to. but mark figures this newfound information surprised everyone, even ten, sicheng’s long-life-best-friend-forever (self-claimed).

“ yeah. I suppose you guys know him .”

“ who doesn’t ?” yangyang snorts. “ he’s lee taeyong .”

“ yup. so, mondays’ off .”

ten slams his hand on the table, facing sicheng. “ how long has the affair been going on ?”

“ affair – what ?” sicheng makes a face. “ the fuck, ten ?”

“ you and taeyong. how long has it been ?”

“ if you’re talking about the group project for developmental biology, it’s been two weeks, my dearest buddy ,” sicheng deadpans him. “ you’re in the same class, dude. your partner is kunhang .”

“ oh .” ten blinks, then goes back to his interrogation mode. “ yeah but I don’t go on library dates with him !”

sicheng waves him off and turns to the rest. “ look, if you want to practice on mondays without me, it’ll be fine. ten can –“

he’s cut short when ten erupts into a maniacal laughter and ends it with a loud wheeze, before he deadpans sicheng. “ no. I _cannot_ train these kids on my own .”

“ yeah, it’s a disaster if he does .” yangyang agrees.

“ thank you, yang. back to the topic, yun, how many scandals do you have ?”

“ what –“

“ to think of it ,” donghyuck chimes in. “ there gotta be at least four .” he even winks at mark, that goddamned brat, and mark glares at him.

“ yeah, I mean, it’s sicheng hyung .” jeno shrugs.

“ don’t the hot guy from art department also has the hots for him ?”

sicheng sighs. “ I do not have any entitlement to tell you guys about my private life. and since when did this change from hockey meeting to discussion about my love affairs ?”

“ so you admit you have affairs !” ten gasps. “ and to think markie pooh is one of them… oh my god .”

“ ten hyung, stop it .” mark whines.

“ I thought you were innocent, markie –“

“ stop it, ten ,” sicheng smacks him. “ to wrap it up, wednesdays on four, tuesdays on nine, and the rest like our usual. good ?”

the team nods and murmurs some agreement. ten looks like he’s gonna say something yet zips his mouth shut when sicheng glares at him, a warning. 

“ … can we eat now ?” sungchan chimes in, and the rest stare at him before laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

even science couldn’t explain how mark sweats in an air-conditioned ice rink, but he does.

it’s hard not to when sicheng’s body pressed against his back as he teaches mark about the basics, step-by-step, like mark’s a clueless beginner (he is). they’re alone in the arena and it does nothing to soothe mark’s poor heart. not to mention sicheng’s voice in mark’s ears sound like pure asmr and if he keeps touching mark’s hands for another second mark will _die_.

“ bend your knees a bit ,” sicheng whispers right into his ears and mark gulps. “ don’t grip too tightly. you don’t wanna break your stick .”

mark skates away, saving himself from sicheng’s warm embrace. he prays he’s not blushing. “ I get it, hyung. I’ve been in the team for years .” 

“ hard to notice ,” sicheng giggles. “ no offense but you never played in any major league. I’m… nervous, that’s all .”

“ what for? we got enough members and the others are better. in case you forgot, I’m the duster. probably not gonna play in the sora league .”

“ don’t say that .”

“ _hopefully_ won’t play? if that makes you less nervous .”

sicheng rolls his eyes and smacks him. “ look, I’m not underestimating you, kid. you’re good. plus we can’t be too sure. if any of us get injured or something at least we got you. right ?”

mark isn’t so sure. even if sicheng assured him he’s fine, he knows sicheng lied to make him feel better, but he can’t say no to sicheng’s sweet smile.

“ right. you got me .” 

“ I got you .” sicheng grins and ruffles his hair. “ future captain lee minhyung, let’s get this bread .”

“ present captain dong sicheng, let’s get it !”

they burst into laughter. the rest of the practice sails smoothly, with mark improving in his accuracy skills and scored three goals in thirty minutes. sicheng’s obviously pleased with this because he grins every now and then – and mark tries not to melt into a puddle.

mark’s caught off-guard when sicheng skates to him and steals the puck away, going off in an incredible speed. his moves are smooth and fast, like a silk cloth, but the look on his face is playful. mark doesn’t even try to stop him from scoring a goal.

sicheng turns to him, cocking a brow. “ you should’ve stopped your opponent from scoring a goal, y’know .” 

“ you’re not my opponent .” mark says calmly – even if the real reason he didn’t stop sicheng is because he’s too awestruck – and shrugs.

“ who knows, after I graduate we might be .”

_I’d like us to be boyfriends_ , mark thought. he swallows it away.

“ impossible. if you turn your back on us ten hyung will be off with your head .”

“ yeah, he totally will ,” sicheng laughs. “ come here, I’ll show you some tricks to steal the puck from your opponent .”

mark nods and skates to him. sicheng watches him as he does, his usual tiny smile on his face. it feels like a scene from a movie somehow. mark’s heartbeat speeds up with every step – but then something happens. he doesn’t know how, but his legs flies out under him (he probably trips over his own feet), and he falls flat on the icy rink with a loud thud.  
ah fuck. the pain doesn’t quite match his embarrassment after falling in front of his crush. 

sicheng rushes to him immediately, concern on his face. mark hates how, when his blurry vision zeroes in on sicheng, the first thought that crossed his mind is angel. he’s sure his face is kin to a tomato.

“ are you okay ?” sicheng asks in a gentle voice, though it echoes in mark’s ears like a loud drum. “ that gotta hurt .”

“ I’m – I’m fine. yeah. it doesn’t… okay, maybe it hurts a bit, but I’m fine .”

sicheng helps him to stand up slowly, afraid if he hurts mark. “ maybe it’s enough for today. you have to rest .”

“ I’m fine, hyung. really .”

“ no. it’s enough. do you think I haven’t noticed the bags under your eyes? I’ve saw it since you entered the arena. now go pack your bags, I’ll send you to your dorm .”

there’s finality in sicheng’s voice so mark doesn’t refute. instead, he obliges and cleans his stuff. after changing and shoving his belongings into his bag, he searches for sicheng, to find the older on the benches scrolling through his phone. he’s in a black tee and jeans now, the outfit he wore earlier.

“ I’m done ,” mark announces. “ you don’t have to send me to my dorms, though. I’m gonna walk with jaehyun hyung to his dorm .”

jaehyun has pestered mark over text yesterday, asking (forcing) him to help with an assignment. it takes some blackmail and bribing. he couldn’t let jaehyun’s big mouth tell sicheng mark has the hots for him, so mark accepts (reluctantly). it’s hard when your not-so-beloved senior is close friends with your crush.

sicheng pockets his phone and gets up. “ he has baseball practice today, doesn’t he ?”

“ yeah. should’ve ended by now. why ?”

“ perfect. I’m going there too, so let’s walk together .”

it’s obvious why sicheng’s going there, so mark doesn’t ask. not like it would help if he does. if any, it’ll just break his heart more so he keeps quiet.

the walk to the baseball field is a short one. when they get there, the practice has ends already, and jaehyun jogs to them once he spots mark. but instead of going to the youngest, he beams and pulls sicheng into a suffocating hug.

sicheng grunts and pushes jaehyun away. “ how many times I have to tell you, if you want to hug me, please refrain from restricting my air-ways .”

“ hello to you too, win ,” jaehyun says, his grin widening. “ I missed you too .” 

“ I didn’t say I missed you .”

“ you needn’t say it, I know it .”

“ as if ,” sicheng rolls his eyes. he turns to mark and his expression softens in a one-hundred-eighty way. “ I’ll see you later, minhyung .”

“ sure. bye, hyung .”

sicheng waves at him and mark watches as he goes straight to taeyong. taeyong smiles when he sees sicheng and wraps his arm around him, whispering something which made sicheng laugh. mark shouldn’t have stared. now he’s gonna spend the night crying over how he’s never gonna be in taeyong’s place.

jaehyun nudges him. “ your gay is showing .”

“ what ?” mark squints his eyes at him. “ what do you mean ?”

“ come on, don’t pretend as if you don’t know I already knew. I’m probably the second one to know after hyuck .”

“ second place is first losers .”

“ don’t use my words against me .” jaehyun scoffs. 

“ yeah, whatever, can we just go to your dorm and get this over with ?”

“ don’t be so bummed, would you ?” jaehyun nudges him again as they walk side-by-side. “ they’re not together. rest assured .”

“ probably gonna be .”

“ you’re so sure because ?”

“ didn’t you see how close they are? they’re like a real couple .”

“ if you think they’re together because sicheng lets taeyong touch him like that, sicheng probably has like seven boyfriends ,” jaehyun snorts. “ I know him. unless you hear it from his own mouth, he doesn’t like taeyong in that way .” 

“ he said he was going on a date with taeyong .”

“ he uses the term loosely. it’s easier for him or whatever. but the point is, he’s straight-forward, if he likes someone he’ll not beat around the bush and confess already. so don’t worry too much .”

jaehyun’s words helped to calm mark down a bit. “ fine. thanks .”

“ you probably should confess though ,” jaehyun shrugs. “ I might be entirely wrong and he _does_ have a crush on taeyong. who knows ?”

jaehyun lifts a teasing brow and smirks; mark probably would’ve punched him if he’s not in risk of getting expelled for doing so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

it’s a disaster. a whole freaking disaster.

mark never played in major leagues. never should. the team was doing fine with him as the duster, got them a spot in the finals, playing against a team from busan who was the winner for two constructive years. it should stay like that: them playing and mark in the benches, snatch the first place and go home with the trophy.  
until hyuck injured his leg.

mark tugs on his hair, hard, as if he wants to rip them off (he does). “ I can’t do it! this is too hard. I’ll screw up, I know it .”

“ don’t be so dramatic ,” donghyuck rolls his eyes, pressing an ice-bag on his sprained ankle. “ you’ll be fine. it’s the finals already .”

“ yeah, well, the finals. you guys got so far and if I screw up now we’ll lose, because of me .”

“ the game hasn’t even started yet. even if we lose, doubtly so, no one’s gonna blame you. especially sicheng-ge. he would never .”

mark knows hyuck’s right. the members never blamed one another if they lose, they don’t even really care – especially sicheng. he will never put the blame on mark.  
but mark doesn’t want to put their hard-work to waste. they’ve came this far, they would’ve won if it’s not for him.

“ don’t know, man ,” mark grunts. “ the team did great. I don’t wanna ruin this for you guys .”

“ stop saying bullshit. you do realize you’re in the team too, aren’t you ?” 

before mark could retort, the waiting room door flies open. ten walks in, beaming, with sicheng behind him. sicheng’s skin glistens with sweat and he smiles as he sweeps his hair back, revealing his forehead. mark’s stomach flips. 

“ there you two are. the final game’s in fifteen! can you believe it ?”

ten’s words do nothing to soothe mark’s nerves. luckily he doesn’t push it – or maybe doesn’t have the chance to – because sicheng plops down next to hyuck and speaks before ten could.

“ how’s your ankle ?” sicheng asks, jerking his chin towards donghyuck. 

“ bad ,” he replies in a slight whiny tone. “ I think I broke my leg, ge .”

sicheng giggles and pats hyuck’s back. the younger leans into his touch. “ you’ll be fine. I’m sorry you couldn’t play .” 

“ yeah, that sucks. but markie pooh got to shine !” ten interferes. he’s beaming like the sun, and mark hates how he’s always so optimistic.

sicheng’s attention shifts to mark and mark swallows dryly. he hangs his head low, balling his fists. 

“ I don’t think I should play. we’ll lose for sure .”

ten frowns. “ don’t say that. you’re great !”

“ yup ,” sicheng agrees. “ you’ve showed improvements during our personal practices. you’ll do great .”

“ beg to differ .” mark scoffs, cheeks red.

hyuck draws out a long sigh, turning to sicheng. “ he’s been babbling about this for twenty minutes, ge. do something, please, or I’ll shove this ice bag into his mouth .”

sicheng presses his lips into a thin smile. he stands up and places his hand on each of mark’s shoulder; mark squirms under his piercing gaze. this is one of the rare circumstances where sicheng radiates leader aura around him, and, while it’s intimidating, it’s also _hot_.

sicheng’s face is unreadable yet there’s a flash of hope in his eyes and how mark hates to let him down. but then sicheng flashes his signature smile and nothing else matters anymore.

“ minhyung, don’t talk like that about yourself. you have potential. if you suck entirely, ten and I wouldn’t had accepted you into the team. we’ll win, okay ?” 

mark’s voice grows quieter, like a whisper. “ what if we don’t ?”

“ then, at least we tried our best ,” sicheng leans back and pats his shoulder. “ no one will blame you if we lose. what matters is we have fun, okay ?”

the burden on mark’s shoulders disappear along the weight of sicheng’s hands as the chinese detaches them. sicheng smiles assuringly when mark doesn’t reply, and holds his fisted hand up for a fist-bump. mark chokes out a nervous laugh and fist-bumps him.

“ yeah. at least we have fun .” mark smiles, not caring if his cheeks betray him right now. he has an irresistible urge to hug sicheng but he doesn’t. that would be going too far, anyways.

sicheng nods and ruffles his hair. ten nudges mark’s shoulder with a smirk as sicheng goes to give the others words of encouragement, while donghyuck smiles knowingly at him. somehow, his heart feels light when he stares at sicheng – heartbeat losing its pace, yet he thinks he’s never been this calm and at peace.

_time-skip._

that night, mark finds out their other friends have planned to throw a party for the team regardless if they won or not, so they’re cramped at taeyong’s place right after the tournament ends. mark thinks johnny only needs an excuse to throw a party, but he changes his mind when he realizes it’s just a small get-together. maybe they’re really genuine.

“ mark lee !” he hears a loud-pitched scream and doesn’t need to turn to know it belongs to chenle. next to him, renjun smiles brightly, an arm around his boyfriend. “ congrats, dude. hyuck told me everything. you were awesome !”

mark only replies with a small smile. he doesn’t have the chance to reply, anyways, because jisung drags them to stop jaemin and donghyuck from fighting again. when they leave, mark stares idly at his fruit punch. he debates going over to one of the groups and scans his options – jeno, yangyang and sungchan talking about the match with chaos that is jaemin and donghyuck behind them – yukhei and the chinese club members congratulating ten – and lastly, the baseball team. 

his heart shrinks when he sees sicheng, in an oversized pink hoodie (is it legal to look that cute?) with taeyong’s arm around his waist. taeyong leans in to say something into his ears and he giggles shyly in reply. obviously, mark is not going to that group.

jaehyun has his shit-eating grin plastered on his face when he spots mark. he gives his cup over to doyoung before he walks towards mark, and mark counts how many seconds he has to run until jaehyun squishes him into a side-hug.

“ mark lee ,” jaehyun whistles, cheeks rosy from the cheap wine he’s been drinking. “ our little star of the night, I hadn’t congratulated you yet. sicheng was telling us how awesome you were .”

mark grunts, trying to remove jaehyun’s arm from him. “ get off .”

“ c’mon, it’s true. he said you were a literal hero .”

“ I don’t care .” mark says. he, indeed, cares – and his rapid heartbeat is the proof of it but jaehyun doesn’t need to know.

“ yeah, like I didn’t see how you were staring at him .” jaehyun smirks.

is it that obvious?

jaehyun bumps his shoulder. “ just admit it. you had heart eyes and all, don’t even lie .”

mark’s cheeks turn red, but he doesn’t have any alcohol in his system to blame. he shies away from jaehyun’s gaze.

“ whatever .”

“ I take that as you didn’t confess yet ,” jaehyun straightens. “ dude, how hopeless could you be ?”

“ how was I supposed to confess? the timing was never right, there’s our teammates – ten was practically glued to his side the whole day .” mark retorts, hands raised in defense.

“ tsk, hopeless ,” jaehyun pauses. “ good thing you have a reliable wing-man, buddy .”

“ what do you mean ?”

jaehyun leans in closer, grabbing mark when he pulls away. “ listen, tonight’s the perfect time for you to confess .”

mark raises a skeptical brow. “ how do you know ?”

“ post-game confessions always work, haven’t you heard ?”

mark’s eyes dart to jaemin and donghyuck. the couple has stopped bickering, hands intertwined although they’re looking anywhere but each other. jaehyun’s words make sense, actually, considering jaemin himself asked donghyuck out after he won first place in a skating competition. it was so romantic (dramatic) – jaemin lifted donghyuck up and skated around the ice. then, they kissed.

“ how are you sure sicheng will accept me ?”

“ you never know if you don’t try. plus, I’ve known sicheng for years. he barely compliments anyone if the person isn’t there but he just spent thirty minutes talking about you. if that’s not favouritism, I don’t know what is .”

“ what if ,” mark hesitates. “ what if he just sees me as a junior ?”

jaehyun rolls his eyes, but it was fond. “ dude, don’t be so dense .” he leans back and pats mark’s shoulder. “ but if you rather spend months angsting over your unrequited love when taeyong eventually asks sicheng out, rather than confessing – and maybe get rejected – then be my guest .” 

mark contemplates. he looks up and meets sicheng’s eyes, who’s been staring at him, and his cheeks flush again. sicheng doesn’t look away. instead, he smiles and waves. mark smiles back and prays it doesn’t look like a grimace.

“ see ?” jaehyun nudges him again, eyes hopeful.

mark draws out a sigh. “ fine, I’ll – I’ll talk to him tonight …”

“ talk to him _now_.”

“ but – but how? in case you’re blind, there’s like seven men surrounding him now .”

“ that’s where your most reliable wing-man hops in ,” jaehyun grins. “ go wait outside. I’ll talk to sicheng .”

mark squints his eyes. “ please don’t do anything weird and creep him out .”

“ I know what I’m doing. now, go .”

jaehyun pushes mark outside, grinning and giving him a thumbs-up before he disappears back into the living room. mark sighs. he guesses he should trust jaehyun, whatever plan he has in mind gotta work.

the moon is bright tonight. mark spots a can on the ground and kicks it away, hands in pocket. he could hear his heart thumping against his chest, the nerves crippling in his skin, as he patiently waits for sicheng. 

he wonders how he should do it. beat around the bush, maybe? or go straightforward, because sicheng has never been a fan of pleasantries. but how? maybe he should be poetic… nonchalant, perhaps? but then sicheng will think he’s not really interested.

mark tugs on his hair. why the fuck is it so hard? he should just grab sicheng, say I love you, and leave right away if he gets rejected – like ten once taught him.  
less than ten minutes pass before the front door opens again.

stepping out of it, sicheng looks like an angel with the lights from the living room behind him. he mutters something to jaehyun mark doesn’t catch, looking pissed off and embarassed at the same time, before he shoves the older in. mark mentally face-palms himself. please don’t tell him jaehyun crept sicheng out.

when he notices mark, he crooks a blinding smile. mark gulps. this will be harder than he thought.

opposed to jaehyun, sicheng looks (and sounds) perfectly sober. “ minhyung. jaehyun told me someone was looking for me. thanks god it’s you .”

“ is that… a good thing ?”

“ yeah, ‘course. I mean, if it was someone else, I’d be nervous .” sicheng rubs his nape, chuckling. 

mark laughs nervously. if only sicheng could feel his heartbeat right now…

“ so. what did you want to talk about ?” sicheng asks, craning his neck to get a better view of the night sky.

mark takes a long breathe. he’s constructed the words in his mind already – _I like you, it’s been a long time actually, and it’d be great if you agree to be my boyfriend_ – and all he needs to do now is to speak it into existence.

except he blurts out a short, barely audible: “ sorry .”

“ sorry ?” sicheng parrots, tilting his head to look at mark.

“ yeah. sorry ,” mark cusses himself, rubbing his hands over his face before he continues. “ sorry that I fucked up .”

“ fucked up? how ?”

“ that… we got second place ?”

sicheng rolls his eyes and mark cusses himself again. the team tied, thanks to mark who scored a goal at last minute, but the other group has higher collective points, so they fall to second place. they don’t seem to care, though. only mark mourned about it in the bus while the others celebrated.

“ c’mon, minhyung ,” sicheng draws out the last syllable, punching mark’s shoulder gently. “ are you serious? I thought we’re over this .”

mark hangs his head low. “ I still feel bad .” 

“ don’t. we’re a team, okay? nobody’s blaming anyone. plus, second’s not that bad !”

“ second place is first losers .” mark recites, earning a snort from sicheng. why did he chose to quote jaehyun now, for god’s sake? it just ruins the mood even more.

“ that’s jaehyun’s words, and I don’t believe in him. please don’t tell him .”

“ fair enough .”

“ you shouldn’t trust his words too ,” sicheng ruffles mark’s hair. “ we did our best. cheer up .”

mark crooks the faintest of smile, nodding. comfortable silence wraps them after that, with sicheng humming while gazing at the stars. mark thinks sicheng’s eyes hold prettier, brighter constellation of stars that could rival the night sky itself, but he doesn’t have the guts to say it. 

so, he decides to stare at the beauty in silence. from sicheng’s jawline, cheekbones, down to his lips. god – mark has always loved his lips. sure, his ears are mark’s favorite, but sicheng’s lips are naturally plump and pink that it drives mark crazy sometimes. (don’t tell anyone, but he might’ve thought about it at nights and in the showers sometimes.)

first and foremost, sicheng’s lips looked soft. 

mark looks away when sicheng turns to him. from the corner of his eyes, he sees sicheng smirking (god to be that awfully gorgeous) and eyeing him with a brow raised. mark covers his burning cheeks with his hands.

“ come on ,” sicheng laughs, sweeping a hand through his hair. “ how long would it take for you to confess ?” 

it feels like the bomb has finally dropped. mark snaps up, wide-eyed, jaw hanging down.

“ how… how did you know ?”

“ I had a hunch for a while ,” sicheng shrugs. “ I thought I was self-centric, but before going out jaehyun tried to give me condoms, so I think I’m right .”

mark face-palms himself for real now. he makes a mental-note to kill jaehyun after this.

sicheng smiles. “ the others hadn’t been very secretive either. especially hyuck .”

mark grunts. add donghyuck to the list.

“ but, if they hadn’t say or do anything, I think I’ll find out by myself .” sicheng adds.

“ am I that obvious ?” mark asks, removing his hands from his face, but still won’t look at sicheng.

“ yeah. to ten, at least. he keeps bugging me about it. you know, they always say I’m oblivious and all… not to the fact you’ve been staring at my lips for the past five minutes, though .”

okay, maybe he’ll add himself to the list.

“ sorry .” 

sicheng barks out a confused laugh. “ what are you sorry about ?”

“ um… maybe it made you uncomfortable ?”

“ I’m not a prude, mark. I’ve had boyfriends. plus I’m a scorpio, you know what they say about us .”

mark doesn’t know. he’s not really into astrology (much to renjun’s dismay) yet he nods nonetheless. silence falls again. he picks at his fingers, unsure of what to say. 

so, sicheng knows he likes him already – should he confess anyways or just ask him out – or maybe this is an indirect rejection? mark doesn’t know, to be absolutely frank, he’s never been in relationships. but what’s the harm in trying?

“ so. um .” he clears his throat. “ you already knew I like you, but I’ll say it again. I like you, ge, a lot. awful lot. it’s been a few months… and I think you’re very cool and adorable and all –“

a sudden warmth jolts mark. he looks down to find sicheng intertwining their fingers together, and when he looks up, sicheng is smiling softly at him. sicheng squeezes mark’s hand, a sign of assurance.

this time, mark’s heart eyes are mirrored by sicheng’s own. it helps in giving him a spark of confidence.

“ so, what I’m trying to say is – be my boyfriend ?”

sicheng grins. “ took you long enough to ask .”

“ … is that a yes ?”

“ god, mark, you’re so dense .” sicheng scoffs, lifting mark’s chin up. there’s no bite to his words and his smile is gentle as ever. “ yes, minhyung, I’ll be your boyfriend .”

okay, maybe he won’t kill jaehyun. maybe he’ll thank him instead. but right now, at this moment, nothing else matters except for sicheng – beautiful sicheng, who’s now his beautiful boyfriend.

“ can… can I kiss you ?”

sicheng doesn’t verbally answer, but mark takes the feathery-like brush of lips on top of his own as a yes.

**Author's Note:**

> this Thing has been sitting in my drafts since november, and I decided to just dump this here so it's not my problem anymore (what a responsible author) but I hope it was at least entertaining <3  
> kudos and comments are very appreciated!  
> i'll upload this on my wattpad... (eventually) : sillyseo


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